Friday, August 7, 2015

A Well Traveled Bunny

Last Friday I obviously was not in Blog Land ..again. I have another good reason though: I was in Queensland at Mapleton camp setting my workshop area and fluffy enabeling area up.

It was a big drive from Victoria all the way to the Sunshine coast. It was cold wet and raining when I left and it was a very balmy 27 C when I got to Queensland…It immediately felt like Summer…

It had been a while since I went to do workshops at the Queensland spinners weavers and fibre artist camp but every time I go it is absolutely AWESOME!
It is a great place to share and see amazing things happen. I did a workshop on Navajo Spindling and Mayan Spindling. We all had a ball !!
There were also other workshops, like Natalie Billings Eco Printing and dyeing workshop using leaves and bark that were collected in the beautiful bushland surrounding the camp.
Here are some snapshots of the show for those who did not make it or for those who did and want to reminisce and some photos of the work of Natalie Billing. Her work can be found on Etsy here: www.etsy.com/shop/MemoryCabinet.

friday night and all set up ready to be raided ;-)

another view of my shop set up

....and the snaffling begins !

The Navajo Spindling workshop. Everybody got a navajo spindle to play with and a leaflet of the history and more of this amazing spindle.

the hustle and bustle of the huge retreat hall: some were outside eco dyeing, others felting, others were weaving or doing the spindle workshops...or just relaxing and spinning yarns

an example of Nat Billing's awesome work

The weekend was absolutely amazing and I would love to thank Chantelle and Tim Hills and their gorgeous daughter Abbie for their hospitality (read : putting up with me on the Thursday night..lol) and Jen Homewood and Chantelle Hills for organising this amazing camp retreat ! It was awesome being part of the creative vibe that whole weekend! Thank you so so much !!!!

The drive back from Mapleton took me to Tenterfield in NSW first on the Sunday, where..who knew…I discovered a wonderful tea room called Bohemian Tearoom” run by the fantastic Jen. It was so much fun that I stayed another day in Tenterfield , especially seeing there was a whole “shrine” in her tearoom filled with Tartans and highland attributes together with a spinning wheel which she did not know how to use…that alone was enough incentive to stay ..lol
I had a great time and if you are ever driving through Tenterfield please stop ! it is really an amazing place to recharge ones batteries !

I arrived back home on Wednesday afternoon and immediately got back into the swing of things, finishing off some custom orders and getting new things started. It won’t be long before the August clubs will have to be prepared , dyed and batted up! See: it never stops! Lol…no rest for the fibery wicked..lol

This year , as you know , I am focussing on the rare breeds and this blog update is all about another couple of a rare sheep breeds: the French Ouessant sheep and the Wensleydale from the UK.

French Ouessant Sheep

If you happened to see the series on SBS on building a medieval Castle, there was a mention of this rare sheep breed, which was added to this wonderful project of practical archaeology in the south of France.
The reason why the Ouessant sheep were being farmed as part of their medieval project was because this particular sheep breed is the closest to the sheep in medieval times.
Even nowadays this rare breed of sheep called the Ouessant sheep, also occasionally called the Breton Dwarf, is the smallest breed of sheep in the world and comes from the island of Ouessant off the western tip of Brittany (French Bretagne) north west France where until the twentieth century they existed exclusively.

The tiny island, about 15 square kilometres in size, has been inhabited by Ouessant sheep since the 1700’s. They once numbered about 6000 in the mid 1800s, however today there are only about 3000. It is said that this small breed where favoured by the women of the island who mostly tended the flocks while the men were away fishing.
Despite their sturdy natures and their ability to withstand the rigours of their natural habitat these sheep are incredibly small. The rams are about 49 centimetres (19 in) tall at the shoulder, and the ewes about 45 centimetres (18 in)

I have a very limited amount of beautiful natural coloured tops avalable for you : 100+grams AU$20.

A close up of the Ouessant Tops

100g AU$20SORRY : all sold out

Wensleydale Tops

100+grams/ 3.56 oz AU$21
The most funky looking sheep with the most amazing lustrous fleece!

Great to spin and wear !

Bush Flowers-sold-

Fern Gully-sold-

Honey Bee-sold-

Rainbow-3 left-

Rose Garden-sold-

Sugar Plum-sold-

Time Vortex-sold-

Velvet-sold-

Have a fun weekend Creating your Dreams!

Please don't hesitate to contact me at any time if you have any questions okay? Always happy to enable.

All my contact details are to be found at the end of this weeks blog entry.
Have fun !!!

Dates to put in your Calendar !!

Saturday , September 26th

Play day at Pascoe Vale

You can find all the info on this poster and for any questions you may have please contact Annet !

Sunday , September 27th (9:30-3pm)

Sheep and Woolcraft Field Day , Cranbourne Public HAll (near KFC)

A perfect fibre and craft day hosted by the Black n Coloured Sheep association of Australia and an absolute MUST!

How To Order:

1. You can email me on ixchel at rabbit dot com dot au or ixchelbunny at yahoo dot com dot au2. message me on facebook or ravelry where I am Ixchelbunny. I will email you right back with all your order details and payment methods. Any questions? Any custom orders for yarn or dyeing fibre? Please don’t hesitate to ask! Always happy to enable.

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Ixchel is an Australian Fibre Farm in the Yarra Valley in Victoria, breeding their own fluffy animals pesticide free and organic. Charly McCafferty (Ixchel Bunny) does all the spinning, dyeing, knitting and weaving and loving every second of it: Angora Rabbit, Cashmere, Mohair, Merino, Alpaca, Camel or even Yak.Paul McCafferty is constantly juggling work on the fibre farm and is the brain behind making all the animal housing and organising the farm harmoneously.
Email:Ixchel@rabbit.com.au

About Me

Email: ixchelbunny@yahoo.com.au
.
Born in the Netherlands, part Dutch and Native American, brought up in Europe, Canada ,the States and Latin America and now living in Australia, I see myself as a world citizen enjoying every moment that this life is giving me. Having such a diverse background I feel very priviledged on how it makes my art (be it paintings or wearable art) so universal and yet so special.